From Bending to Babysitting?
by Weaver of Daydreams
Summary: Korra: teenager, Avatar, Probender…and babysitter? With Pema & Tenzin out, Meelo, Ikki, and Jinora are left in Korra's care. Somehow, Korra adds Mako and Bolin to the mix. Will they survive the night without driving each other to the Spirit World?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everybody! (cue Probending announcer voice). **_**The Legend of Korra**_** does not (sadly) belong to me, (though I wish it did) but to their creators, Mike and Bryan (that's their names, right? If not, sorry! And please let me know so I can change it****…****)! Anyways, MY FIRST FANFICTION! Please rate, review, etc., etc. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!**

**A/N #2: I got this idea from all the Korra fanart out there. Yay for fanart! Too bad I can't draw people. BUT, that's where fanfiction comes in! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1:**

"_Tenzin!_ You are _overworked!_ You are _not_ on the United Republic Council _every minute_ of the day! _A_ _break_ won't kill you!" Pema exclaimed exasperatedly, as she flailed her arms back and forth in Tenzin's face.

"But…but…it's my _duty_. 'Breaks' aren't in the _job description,_" Tenzin bumbled, his face growing redder and redder by the minute. Not buying anything Tenzin was saying, Pema placed her hands on her hips and gave Tenzin a _look_. Especially in this stance, since she was going to have a baby soon, her figure was large and looming, a force _not _to be reckoned with, which Tenzin would heed, if he were wise.

"If you don't listen to me, I'll put _you_ in the job description!"

"Wha…that…that doesn't even make any sense!"

"You won't be making any sense if you keep pushing yourself! Now. Go. Change." Pema ordered, using her notorious no-nonsense tone, carefully cultivated after 7 years of Ikki and Meelo (Jinora hadn't been too difficult to deal with).

"What about the kids?" Tenzin asked.

"I'll take care of it. Now _go_ and get ready." Pema sighed. "_Now."_

"Where're you goin', daddy? Are you and Mama going on a _date_? Is it gonna be fun? Are dates always fun? Can I come? I like fun. Ooh, ooh, ooh, this is going to be so much _fun!_ I haven't been to the Republic city mainland in a while. Can we go –"

"Ikki! Can you be quiet? I am concentrating!" Tenzin sharply cut off Ikki, who was rambling as she bounced on their bed.

"…But Daddy! You're not meditating. You are only choosing your clothes! Anyways, you only have your airbending clothes! There's not much to decide on. Anyways, I really want to go to…" Ikki continued.

Tenzin sighed, picked a pair of freshly laundered airbending clothes, courtesy of Pema, and went to another room to change. "_Maybe a break __**would**__be good for me,"_ he thought to himself.

"Alright, Pema, I guess I am ready," Tenzin said as he approached his wife, who was standing near the door. "What are we going to do about the children? Take them with us? I'll go and get Oogi ready…"

"No! Don't you think I need a rest from air-bending? I'm at my wits end with these kids! Jinora was always so quiet…and thankfully she never bothered me with her airbending…Anyways, KORRA!" Pema yelled.

"…Yes?" Korra skittered in, gasping for breath after completing a difficult training exercise. She was covered in sweat, her hair stuck to her forehead, and her cheeks looked flushed, but her eyes were bright and lively from the exercise. "Oh, you look nice, Pema! All dressed up, Tenzin?" Korra snickered. "Where are you going?"

"Are you busy tonight?" Pema innocently asked.

"Uhh…Not really…" Korra warily responded.

"Would you mind babysitting Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo?" Pema quickly rushed out in a single breath. "Tenzin and I will be out only for a little bit. We'll be back soon!" Pema quickly grabbed Tenzin by the arm and dragged him out the door. Tenzin shot a look of apprehension at Korra, and began to say, "Just keep them entertained a bit, there's food in the kitchen, their bed-time…" Tenzin was cut off by the door.

Korra stood there with her mouth open, arms limp at her sides, "Umm, what just happened?"

"YAY KORRA! YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF US NOW! Oooh, we are going to have _so much fun_. Do you wanna to my hair? OH WAIT. I can do your hair! Where's Nagi? I can braid her tail too!" Ikki screamed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Meelo exclaimed, and promptly airbended himself to Korra and attached himself to her arm.

Jinora sat in the corner with a book placed delicately in her hands. "Well, this'll be interesting," she chuckled.

Moments later, a slight knock was heard on the door.

"_Thank the spirits! _That was quick!" Korra exclaimed, fed up with babysitting already, as she lunged towards the door. As Korra flung the door open, she came face-to-face with Mako.

"Oh, it's you Mako." Korra sighed.

"Thanks for the welcome. Here, you left your helmet at the arena." Mako handed Korra her helmet, when Korra suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Mako, are you busy tonight?" asked Korra innocently.

"Uh, no."

"Will you babysit Jinora,"

"Hey! I don't need anyone to babysit me!" Jinora interrupted.

"…Ikki, and Meelo with me?"

Mako's eyes widened, and Korra could see all the years of taking care of his younger brother flash before his eyes. Before Korra could utter another plea, Mako turned and began sprinting. "_Run!" _He yelled to Bolin, who had been casually strolling behind him, talking to Pabu, who was wrapped around Bolin's neck akin to Mako's scarf. At the sound of Mako's order, Bolin's head shot up, and he immediately turned and began running.

"Oh, _geez_. C'mon. It's just three kids! We'll have a blast. And you owe me for saving your butts in that Probending match." Korra said. She stepped out of the doorway and squatted, settling into her earthbending stance. Korra held her hands in tight fists, facing upwards by her hips, and thrust upwards. Immediately in front of Bolin a wall of earth arose. Bolin skittered to a stop before it, but before he could pull the wall down, Mako ran into it full force. "_Ouch_, that's gotta hurt." Korra chuckled, before she noticed that Bolin had pulled down the wall and had continued running, not noticing that Mako was still on the ground rubbing his face. "You're not getting away that easily!" Korra exclaimed. Her open palms faced the ground by her side, and she balanced her body weight on her heels. Suddenly, she hopped on her right foot, forcing it deep into the ground, causing a short, angled column of earth to erupt underneath Bolin's right foot and trip him. "And the Avatar wins again!" she exclaimed, as she raised her hands, palms, up toward her face, formed fists, and pulled in to her sides. The ground underneath Mako and Bolin rumbled and began shifting towards Korra, bring Mako and Bolin along with it.

"Alright! Babysitting is gonna be a cinch! We're going to have so much fun, guys!" Korra exclaimed, as she threw her arms around Bolin's and Mako's necks.

"Oh _spirits_. We're gonna have to look after Korra too, aren't we, Mako?" Bolin sighed.

Mako sighed. "Yeah…"

**A/N: Alright! So, this was originally a oneshot, but now it's a two chapter deal. So, chapter 2 should be up soon, so look forward to it! Also, if anyone sees any **_**Legend of Korra**_** babysitting fanart, please add the links in a review! It's fun to have a picture with a story. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and if you had any thoughts, feelings, or if you have the ability to read, write, and/or understand English, REVIEW. Please.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm back with chapter two! Please enjoy, rate, and review. It would make my day. Thank you! **

**Chapter 2:**

As Korra entered the temple, forcefully dragging Mako and Bolin, Ikki sprang to her feet and ran towards them. "Oooh, Korra! Are these your Probending teammates? _Oooh,_ is this _the Mako_? The one you talk about _all the time?_ The firebender? Who let you borrow his scarf? Who went with you to the Equalist rally? The one who's really handsome, and who you said should be a model –" Ikki was suddenly cut off when Korra, red with embarrassment, ran behind her and grabbed her in a headlock. Ikki struggled, but she pushed downward with her palms, propelling herself out of Korra's grasp and onto the rafters in the ceiling with her airbending. "_Ewww,_ Korra, you _stink_! Were you rolling in Oogi's dung or something? Because you smell!" Ikki exclaimed as Korra looked up at her, hands on her hips, face getting redder and redder by the minute. Bolin, standing on the doorway, with clumps of earth still clinging to his curly hair, chuckled at the sight, while Mako, sullenly leaning against the doorframe, remained quiet.

"Yeah, Korra, you stink!" Meelo, who had been lying on the floor and had been using his airbending to send random objects in the temple's entryway to go flying, jumped up and cautiously approached Mako. "Woah," Meelo exclaimed as he raised his head to meet Mako's eyes. "You're tall…who are you? Why are you here?" He asked, as he was not as interested in Korra's romantic notions as Ikki was, and therefore knew nothing of Mako.

"I'm here to make you go to bed," Mako stated.

"No!" Meelo screamed, and ran behind Korra.

"Oh c'mon! Since we're all here, let's have some fun!" Bolin pumped his fist in the air.

"Yay!" Meelo and Ikki screamed in unison. Jinora, sitting in a chair in a nook of the entryway, put down the book she was reading and cracked a smile.

"Here we go," Mako sighed.

The crew left the temple and headed towards a grassy area near the airbending training center. Ikki clung to Bolin's right arm, forcing him to drag that limb and making him look like a lumbering caveman. It seemed as though Bolin and Ikki were having a talking contest, constantly jumping around from subject to subject.

"And so this one time, I fell of Oogi – spirits! That was so scary! – and we were flying and –"

"Ah! That's like the time I fell of the Probending platform into the water in the first round on accident and then Mako –"

"Mako? Oh yeah! Why is he so quiet? Does he like Korra? What's with his scarf –"

"The scarf? He's had it for the longest time. I think it has to do with a lady –"

"Oooh, a lady? Not Korra? Ooh, she's going to be –"

"It may have been our mom? Or maybe our dad? Not sure –"

"Oh, my mom gave me a necklace for my birthday once! I think Meelo tried to eat it and then I -"

"Eating? I love eating! I eat _all_ the time! I am a growing boy, y'know? 'Cept Mako says I should watch my weight, but you know the dumplings they sell outside the arena? Oh, you may not have been there, Tenzin being your dad in all, but there are _to die_ –"

"Will you two just be quiet?" Mako asked exasperately.

Bolin turned and looked at him with huge, glittering, bright green eyes and a pout. Ikki did the same, except with bright blue eyes. "Awww, but we were just _talking_. Is that illegal? Huh? Huh?" They (somehow) asked in unison.

"No, but driving me insane must be. And if you both don't hush up, I'll-"

"OKAY! WHO'S READY TO HAVE SOME FUN-TIME?" Korra interrupted.

"ME! ME! I WANNA HAVE FUN!" Bolin, Ikki, and Meelo responded at the same time, raising their hands in the air.

"Awesome! Last one to the training area is a rotten Platypus-bear egg!" Korra screamed, as the four of them took off.

Mako sighed, slouched, slightly bent at the knees and in the back with his arms hanging limp by his sides. He looked after the four running children ("_Yes,"_ he thought, "_that includes Korra and Bolin__…__"_) and sighed again. Nevertheless, he felt a light pressure at his side as Jinora sidled up to him and reassured, "C'mon. Maybe we'll have some fun! You really need to loosen up, Mako. I've heard a bit about you, and I think if you relaxed a bit, it'd be good for you. And your bending."

"Where have you heard about me?" Mako asked.

Jinora's eyes narrowed, making her look a lot like Pema. "You are missing the point. And anyways…the radio?"

The children plus Mako arrived at the grassy field near the airbending training area. At the edge of the training field, a pool of bright, clear water peacefully lay. On either sides of the pool, generators simulated airbending, creating a platform of a mass of swirling air.

"Well! That looks sturdy!" Bolin sarcastically commented.

"So, this game is our version of Probending," Jinora explained, ignoring Bolin.

"Oh well, since I'm a professional Probender, it will be unfair. So, I won't play." Mako said and sat down.

Jinora narrowed her eyes and pointed her index finger at Mako. "_Stand," _she commanded. He stood.

"So, our arena is really similar to yours. We have this pool of water," Jinora pointed, "which Korra bended for us." Korra clasped her hands in fist above her head and shook them around like a victor. "Thank you, thank you!" she crooned. "For catching us when we fall. The air platform is where we play!" Jinora finished.

"Wait! You don't have earthbending disks!" Bolin cried.

"Well, _yeah_. We're _airbenders_, dummy," Ikki replied.

"Oh yeah."

"WELL. I'll let you guys have fun. You'll need an audience, so I'll sit this one out." Mako said and sat down again.

"Oh okay," Jinora replied, but as she did, her mouth cracked into a sweet smile. "Too bad the last person standing gets a prize." Ikki airbended herself onto Jinora's shoulder, and raised her hands in the air, holding Mako's red scarf aloft.

Mako jumped to his feet and frantically patted his neck. "MY SCARF!" Bolin laughed loudly, while Korra stuck her tongue at Mako.

"Well this got real interesting, real fast," Bolin chuckled.

The players divided into two teams: girls vs. boys. "So, this is somewhat of a free-for-all, except you can't attack your team members. However, once the other team is eliminated, and there only are members of your team left, it's _really_ a free-for-all. If you trip or fall at all, you're out. Last person standing gets Mako's scarf," Jinora finished up. "Okay. Ready? GO!" Korra screamed.

Mako and Bolin were immediately attacked with numerous balls of air and water. Unsure of whether it was ethical or not to attack children, they hesitated at first. However, these children were as ferocious and fierce as any team they had fought before. Nevertheless, both boys were careful to not fight too aggressively. They'd occasionally challenge Korra, but mostly tried to throw Ikki and Jinora off balance. After fifteen minutes of…_vigorous_…fighting, Korra and Mako were the only two on the air platform.

Korra smiled widely. "Your scarf will make great socks! Nice and warm," she taunted. Mako grunted. He raised his arms, fists clenched, out to his sides, parallel to the ground, making him look like a human "T" with bent head and bent knees. In a strong motion, he forcefully brought his fists together, causing a huge flame to erupt from the base of his palms. Korra was bent at the knees, looking as though she were curtseying with her head bowed, a serene smile playing at her lips. Her hands were loose at her sides, but she straightened her back and raised them before her, palms barely curved and fingers spread wide. With a turn of her feet, she turns her body 360 degrees, bending water along with the movements. At the same moment as Mako had, she pushes the water forward towards Mako's fireball.

After the steam had cleared, both Korra and Mako were sitting on their bottoms on the grassy area, blown clear of the pool of water.

"Where's my scarf?" Mako grumbled.

All looked to the clear air platform. Out of the sky, Meelo rode down on his air scooter, Mako's scarf wrapped around his head in a turban.

"I WIN!" Meelo yelled in triumph.

Mako headed toward the boy and makes a grab for his scarf. "Give it back, Meelo," he said calmly. "NO!" Meelo responded, clasping his hands protectively above the red head-covering. He propelled himself onto Mako's shoulders. "You can't get me from here!" he screeched, the scarf out of Mako's arm length.

"Outsmarted by a kid," Korra snidely remarked as Jinora smiles. In the background, Ikki and Bolin were rolling in the grass, guffawing and holding their stomachs and sides.

"Time for dinner!" Korra yelled as they all scramble inside.

"Score! I'm _starving_," Bolin said.

"Pema made pasta. I'll go warm it up, I guess," Korra replied.

"NO!" Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo screamed. "What?" Korra asked innocently. "I can totally cook…er, warm things up!"

"Yeah, right. That's what you said about my favorite bean buns," Ikki pouted.

"And my tea!" Jinora said.

"And my potatoes," Meelo mumbled, eyes drooping from tiredness. "Potatoes?" Mako asked. "Don't ask," Jinora said. "I'll go warm the food."

A little while later, Meelo is still slumped over Mako's shoulders, chewing Mako's cowlick and drooling all over his hair. Ikki and Bolin both sit slumped in chairs, chins resting on the table, lower lips sticking out in pouts. Korra leans against the wall, legs and arms crossed, blowing hair out her eyes repeatedly. When Jinora entered with the plates of food, everyone brightens and immediately begins shoveling food down their throats. Meelo remains attached to Mako, thoroughly smearing food into the firebender's carefully gelled hair.

Even before everyone had finished eating, Meelo had fallen asleep on Mako once more. Jinora sat in her chair in a nook, with her knees tucked below her chin, eye-lids flickering between awareness and sleep. Ikki was passed out on the table, one bun squished against her plate. Bolin, too, lay sprawled on his back underneath the table. One arm beneath his head and the other flung wide, fist clutching his fork, he snored loudly, his full stomach rising and falling dramatically.

Only Korra and Mako remained awake. The firebender and waterbender picked up the sleeping children and placed them in their respective beds; Bolin, however, they left.

"Well, that was nice. Thanks for helping me take care of them," Korra said quietly.

"Uh-huh. You said we owed you," Mako replied, making a nonchalant face.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you I wasn't really going to make your scarf into socks," Korra reassured.

"Right…"

"I was going to make a sweatband! I've been training a bunch lately."

_Meanwhile__…_

"_Come on!_ Stick it to him! Send that earth disk straight to his gut! _WHAT? YOU CALL THAT AIMING?_ Light on your feet, light on your feet! I could fight better than you…and I'm pregnant!" Pema screamed.

After Pema and Tenzin had had dinner, she had dragged the council member to the Probending arena, despite his lecture on the disgrace of Probending, the barbarity of the game, the unscrupulous actions of many of the teams, etc., etc. The main reason Pema wanted to come was to see what Korra had been up to; Pema had become somewhat of a mother-figure to Korra in the absence of Korra's real mother, and she wanted to understand this part of Korra's life. But, once she arrived in the arena, the spirit of Probending took over…_and Pema was hooked._

"WATCH IT, WATCH IT! Are you blind? Can you _NOT_ see that giant fireball headed for you? What is that? Definitely not dodging! My five-year-old could fight better than you!"

Tenzin sat next to his wife, hands over his eyes, shaking his head back and forth. Sighing deeply, he eyed all the empty seats around them – all the spectators that had been sitting near them had fled in fear of the large woman standing, shaking her fists, and entirely freaking out over the match.

Tenzin sighed. "This is _so_ relaxing," he sarcastically said to no one.

"Look, Tenzin!" Pema cried. "Hot dogs!"

**A/N: And****…****that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please excuse any tense mistakes. Again, please rate and review and tell me what you think! All comments are appreciated.**

**A/N #2: Before anyone mentions that airbenders don't eat meat, technically Pema isn't an air nomad, or an airbender, etc., etc., and just because **_**if **_**Tenzin doesn't eat meat, doesn't mean Pema has to. **

**Anyways, yay! End of my first fanfiction. :)**


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